We have previously reported that specific anti-tumour cytotoxic T cells (CTL) can be differentiated from tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. We found that the combination of interleukin (IL)-1, IL-2 and IL-12 was very efficient for expansion of CD8+ T-cell receptor (TCR)alphabeta+ T cells and for development of their ability to specifically lyse tumour cells. In this study, we investigated whether anti-tumour T cells could be generated from the peripheral blood of patients using the culture protocol developed for TIL. Autologous T cells and tumour B cells from five patients were included in this study. It was found that polyclonal anti-tumour cytotoxic effector cells were generated when cultured in the presence of IL-1beta, IL-2 and IL-12. Interestingly, tumour cells were lysed by perforin/granzyme-mediated cytolysis and not by CD95-mediated apoptosis. By performing inhibition experiments, it was observed that both CD8+ and CD4+ T cells were responsible for the cytotoxic effect and that they were able to recognize malignant B cells by either a major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-restricted or MHC-non-restricted mechanism. Intriguingly, in addition to interferon-gamma and tumour necrosis factor-alpha, IL-10 was secreted continuously during culture. The source of patient T cells used for the generation of anti-tumour CTL should be based on the results obtained with peripheral blood lymphocytes and TIL.